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White Scars

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White Scars
WSSymbol.jpg
Legion Number V
Primarch Jaghatai Khan
Homeworld Chogoris (a.k.a. Mundus Planus)
Fortress-Monastery Quan Zhou
Chapter Master Jubal Khan [3]
Colours White[29]
Specialty Fast Attack
Strength ~1000 marines
Battle Cry For the Khan and the Emperor! [3g][43p]

The White Scars (known to themselves as the Horde of Jaghatai[38b]), originally known as the Star Hunters[38a] were the V Legion of the original twenty Space Marine Legions of the First Founding. Their Primarch is Jaghatai Khan. During the Horus Heresy the White Scars remained loyal to the Emperor, after which they reorganized and split into Chapters. Drawing on the tribal savagery of their homeworld, the White Scars practice a highly mobile method of warfare, tearing into their enemies with lightning-quick attacks and vanishing before a response can be made. Despite being characterized as barbarians, the White Scars are a highly cultured Chapter. Poetry is among their most respected and ancient traditions.[25]


History

Pre-Jaghatai White Scars Veteran Legionary of a Stalker Cadre in camouflage, serving as outriders and forward scout elements in the Great Crusade[40c]

Unification Wars

The White Scars were the V Legion of Space Marine Legions created by the Emperor. They first saw action during the Unification Wars on Terra, held apart from their brothers and rarely found in mass combined armies. Recruits were primarily drawn from the ice wastes of the Thulean Basin. They were nonetheless one of the first Legion's to see action in the name of the Emperor, fighting alongside the older Thunder Warriors. The early Vth Legion was given the solitary duty of seeking out the hidden lairs of many demagogues and warlords that ruled Terra. Their superhuman physiology allowed them to survive in the most radiation-contaminated areas of the planet and operate deep in enemy territory to scout and harass. In these early days, the Legion numbered only a few hundred warriors and frequently weakened the enemy in preparation for the arrival of the Emperor's main armies. However, the Star Hunters as they eventually become known as were known to be free-spirited and tended to ignore orders given to them by anyone other than the Emperor himself. They operated without glory, far from the center of the conflict. Their famous early battles such as the raid of the Albian fortress of Dubris or the 83 day battle in the catacombs of Kadiru against Ursh forces go largely unrecorded. Few within the Star Hunters showed any outrage at this slight, and they even took a quiet pride in their silent role. Nonetheless, they were further isolated from their peers and became known as Terra's Forgotten Sons.[40d]

Great Crusade

As the Unification Wars spiraled into the Great Crusade, the Star Hunters were among the first Astartes to depart the Sol System. They were split into a hundred companies and acted as pioneers, charting and seeking out domains for the Crusade's Expeditionary Fleets. Once again, these expeditions received little attention or praise and found the Star Hunters as the outsiders and "other" of the Imperium's armies. Nonetheless, one such pioneer Company discovered Cthonia, homeworld of Horus, and this cemented a bond with the Primarch for years to come. Their early experience in pioneering and scouting also saw the Star Hunters master the art of hit-and-run and maneuver warfare that would come to define them in the future. Soon enough the Star Hunters were known not only as pioneers but also as raiders who struck swiftly and without warning, drawing out a foe and testing it before broadcasting the data to allied Expeditionary Fleets. In these early days, the Star Hunters lived by a single cred: each new day is a victory as slowly but surely the Legion was sustaining heavy losses and eroding under the pressures of its duties. Rather than ask for aid, they chose to instead live and die in the manner and locations of their choice.[40d]

It was at this near-breaking point that their Primarch Jaghatai Khan was discovered after fifty long years of searching. Upon meeting the Emperor, Jaghatai recognized him as a man who embodied his ultimate ideal, someone who could unite all the stars of the sky. At his palace at Quan Zhou he swore allegiance to the Emperor and was given command of the 5th Legion. The Astartes adopted the facial ritual scars of the Talskar tribesmen while many of Khan's loyal tribesmen were allowed to join the Legion.[3a] Jaghatai's palace, located in the rugged, lonely mountain passes of the Khum Karta mountains, would become the Legion's Fortress-monastery.[1] However the Khan was unfamiliar with the advanced technologies and tactics of the Imperium, and took a longer and more difficult period to adjust from his life on primitive Chogoris than most Primarch's. The Khan found himself as lord of a Legion of Vagabonds spread out across the Galaxy, but nonetheless effectively rebuilt the Star Hunters into a new force similar to the armies he had employed on Chogoris. In 875.M30, a full ten years after his discovery, the Khan finally mustered all of the remaining Pioneer companies on Chogoris and declared that they would be unified in a shared tradition and ritual. In an event known as the Blooding, 50,000 warriors took up knives and marked themselves with a scar and new Chogorian name. Among these new traditions was the study of "noble pursuits" such as calligraphy, hunting, and the reciting of oral tales. However this blend of primitive and enlightened put him at odds with some aspects of the Imperial Truth and brought him into conflict with Primarch's such as Guilliman and Lorgar.[40d]

Heresy-era White Scars Marine

The Legion fought many bloody battles during the Great Crusade and under Jaghatai Khan they became infamous for their fast attacks and hit-and-run assaults.[3a] Of the 80,000 warriors under the Khan's command, 1 in 10 would perish over the next five years fighting in a region of space known as the Kolarne Circle. These campaigns were waged against foes such as the Orks of Sengr Mar and the Vorgheist. The Khan reshaped the Legion into utilizing the same hit-and-run and fast maneuver tactics he had mastered on Chogoris, outmatching every foe they came across. The Khan always fought at the forefront of every attacking, earning the respect of his Legion. In the final battle of the Kolarne Circle on desolate Kolarne itself, the Khan emerged victorious and the entire region fell into his hands. The battle was more than an impressive victory, it served to bind the legion together and blend the recruits from Terra with those from Chogoris.[40d] Later during the war against the Nephilim on Hoadh in 884.M30 the Legion became known as the White Scars, a term derived from a fused corruption of a Chogorian tribe name and a reference to their new ivory livery.[38b] Other sources state that they took on the title of White Scars during their assembly by the Khan on Chogoris.[40d]

The White Scars earned much glory and victory during this period, but were still largely neglected by the historians of the Imperium. Others considered them savages akin to the warriors of Angron or Leman Russ. Yet in truth they were learned warriors skilled in craftsmanship, art, and philosophy. The warriors of the Legion were far more disciplined and professional than those of the World Eaters or Space Wolves. They found no joy in slaughter and were only merciless when necessary or against a worthy foe they could test their full ability against. The Scars made no effort to show the greater Imperium their true selves and showed no indignation at their false labels.

The Horus Heresy

The Khan and his Legion strike at the Orks in the Ullanor system.[23]

Jaghatai Khan and his Legion had spent several years in a campaign against the Orks of the Chondax System, which had been intentionally prolonged by the Alpha Legion,[19] when news about the betrayal of Horus and the Drop Site Massacre arrived. They were urged by Rogal Dorn to return to Terra[7a] The Khan was contacted by Leman Russ who had just returned from Prospero and offered to join forces with him. Horus, however, had anticipated this and sent the Alpha Legion to launch an assault on Russ' outnumbered Space Wolves, where they were defeated at Yarant.[7a][8] Although he despised leaving the Space Wolves on their own and was faced with dangerous Warp Storms, Jagathai Khan followed Dorn's urgent request to return to Terra immediately rather than engaging in a costly battle against the Alpha Legion. Most of all, the Khan sought to find answers for himself as to what had happened to the Imperium. Using a fleet formation known as the chisel, the White Scars broke a nearby Alpha Legion blockade, destroyed several of their warships, and left the Chondax System behind.[7a]

The Khan eventually decided to return to the source of all of these problems to investigate for himself and arrived at Prospero after its apocalyptic attack by the Space Wolves. Of both sides, the White Scars initially found no sign, but the ghosts of slain Thousand Sons soon appeared and the White Scars found their weapons ineffective against these deadly enemies and Master Qin Xa ordered an immediate retreat. Eventually the Khan himself was confronted by an ethereal projection of Magnus the Red, who implored his brother to choose a side in this war and not trust the Emperor. In the end the Khan shattered the shade with his sword. Jaghatai and his Keshig next encountered Mortarion and his Deathshroud of the Death Guard, and the two sides came to battle. Meanwhile as White Scars and Death Guard ships began to engage each other in space, the legion was faced with an attempted coup led by Torghun Khan and Hasik-Noyan Khan to take command of the White Scars fleet while it was at Prospero, and join their forces with Horus. Cultural tensions between members of the Legion born on Terra and those from Chogoris had been fermenting for years, with many of those from Humanity's birthplace favoring Horus while those from the Khan's adopted world favored loyalty to his word. Thanks to the efforts of Shiban Khan, who led a boarding party onto the Swordstorm and battled the traitors until Jaghatai arrived, the plot failed. Mortarion and the Death Guard withdrew shortly after following a brief battle in space.[25] Surviving traitors within the Scars were condemned to the Sagyar Mazan, suicide units that would atone through death against the enemy.[34]

For the next four years, the White Scars found themselves trapped far from Terra. Warp Storms cut off long-distance Warp travel while the traitor fleets blocked the best routes to Humanity's capital. Faced with no other choice, Jaghatai had the Scars wage a hit-and-run campaign of attrition. While damaging to Horus' war effort, it did not halt his progress towards Terra and 1/5th of the White Scars Legion was lost in the fighting. Soon, it became apparent that the traitors were adjusting to the Scars tactics and the Legion slowly became boxed in. It was after the Battle of the Kalium Gate and the death of Qin Xa that the Khan decided that they had suffered enough and a way to Terra would be forged. Eventually, the Scars were able to discover the Dark Glass artifact and through the sacrifice of Chief Stormseer Targutai Yesugei a portal into the Webway was opened that allowed for the Scars to reach Terra.[34]

The Battle of Terra

During the siege of the Emperor's Palace the White Scars fought alongside the Blood Angels and Imperial Fists against the traitors. They launched several hit-and-run assaults during the siege. When the inner palace was breached, the White Scars led an attack to retake the Lions Gate spaceport. Jaghatai order the assembly of the Legion, the Skye Plate and pulled together elements of a hundred tank regiments, forming the 1st Terran Armored Division[54a]. The White Scars attacked from the Colossi Gate with the Sky Plate providing orbital protection to the tankers and Marines on Jetbikes. Jaghatai then engaged in personal combat with Mortarion and banished him to the Warp, though the Khan was near death following the battle. The White Scars under Shiban Khan, Jangsai Khan, and Ganzorig Noyan-Khan then proceeded to fortify the port with the intention of attacking the traitor armada in orbit and provide access to reinforcements from the Ultramarines, Dark Angels, and Space Wolves to easily get to Terra.[54b]

Post-Heresy

After the Horus Heresy, the White Scars adopted the Codex Astartes and the Legion was divided into several Chapters.

White Scars and Knights battle the Tau

In order to contain the outlaws, renegades and aliens that dwell within the Maelstrom, Roboute Guilliman ordered the surrounding systems to be reinforced. The White Scars were tasked with the main responsibility of securing the area from their homeworld.[5]

Notable Engagements Post-Heresy

  • ???: The Lost Kin. According to the writing of the Great Khan of Quan Zhou, the White Scars learned upon their return to Mundus Planus that their homeworld had been the target of numerous Dark Eldar raids and traitors from the Yasan Sector. Jaghatai fought them in many battles during the Great Scouring. It was during the battle of Corusil V that he and his first brotherhood followed a mighty Dark Eldar lord through a gate into the webway, vanishing forever. To this day the White Scars hold a great hate for these aliens.[3]
White Scars Space Marine[3]
  • ???.M37: The Cursed Year. Three successive Khans are lost during their inaugural campaigns. Thinking they have displeased the spirit of their Primarch, the Stormseers recall the entire Chapter to Chogoris for a month of feasting and competitions. In the decades that follow, the White Scars accumulate many victories.[37a]
Details of the White Scars' scarification rituals.[22]
  • ???.M42: Jubal Khan, Great Khan of the White Scars, seeks revenge against the Red Corsairs for the invasion of Chogoris and pursues them across the Yasan Sector.[43p] He is thought missing after a battle aboard the Seethnar, a space station commandeered by the Red Corsairs.[37a] He is eventually rediscovered, having been captured and brutally tortured by the Red Corsairs. Though he has since partially recovered, his mental state is now called into question.[43p]


Veteran

Organization & Tactics

The Chapter organization of the White Scars reflects their home world's tribal culture; for example, Librarians are referred to as Stormseers. White Scars recruit from a single planet, Mundus Planus. The steppes of the world are inhabited by feuding tribes, from which are chosen the best and most promising young warriors, regardless of tribe. Once a warrior becomes a White Scar, loyalty to his tribe is replaced by loyalty to the Chapter and the Emperor. Another noted difference with the White Scars is the absence of any unit associated with military law. Unlike the Space Wolves, who in the Heresy-era relied heavily on Consul-Opsequiari disciplinary officers, the White Scars never operated with any sort of disciplinary corps. Despite this, they have virtually no internal disputes or act of undisciplined behavior.[40d]

Pre-Heresy

Stormseer

During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, a specialized rank of Noyan-Khan existed that was the equivalent of a Lord Commander. There were multiple Noyan-Khans, each of which commanded several Chapter-sized Brotherhoods.[40d] It is estimated that there were roughly five Hordes containing as many as 5,000 to 20,000 Marines. Each Brotherhood (or Minghan, in the Khorchin languarge[49]) was largely a mechanized unit, consisting of many Jetbikes, Landspeeders, Bikes, and other swift vehicles. In addition, many close-assault and reconnaissance formations existed. They mostly shunned Destroyer Marines due to their enjoyment of open battle and unspoiled wilderness. However some Destroyer cadres did exist, known as the Karaoghlanlar or the Dark Sons of Death.[40d]

Several other specialist orders of the Scars existed during the Great Crusade and Heresy period. These included the Burgedinn Sarvhu or Talon's Claw, which was composed of veteran warriors who had undergone certain initiatory rites on Chogoris. On the battlefield, they served as hunters and forward scouts. Another was the Kharash, which was less a formal order and more of a temporary assembly of warriors who were needed for a diversionary or shock attack role. These were formed only of volunteers and were seen as both an act of punishment and honor. The Kharash were one of the few White Scars orders to make use of Dreadnoughts. Next were the Uhaan Solban, an order compromised of every Dreadnought in use. When not aiding the Kharash, they were used to guard the gene-seed vaults of the Legion on Chogoris and Terra. The last order were known as the Akoghlanar, which consisted of the Apothecaries of the Legion and were seen as the opposite of the Destroyers of the Karaoghlanlar. Unlike the other orders, the Akoghlanlar were spread out across many Brotherhoods on a permanent basis. Other specialist roles existed, such as Kavkhan which served as an adviser to his Brotherhoods commanding Khan, Tenrikhan which captained the White Scars starships, and the Gan-Khan that presided over the Legion armoury and essentially acted as Techmarines.[40d]

Known Hordes of the White Scars during the Great Crusade & Horus Heresy included the:

Known Brotherhoods of the White Scars during the Great Crusade & Horus Heresy included the:

Stance on Dreadnoughts

Many outsiders have made the claim that the White Scars did not use Dreadnoughts. This is not true. Those they maintained were rarely seen in battle and were few in number, but they did exist and held a strange position within the Legion. As a warrior society uniquely bound to the fierce joys of battle and the simple pleasures of a physical existence, the eternity of silence and separation endured by those incarcerated within a Dreadnought chassis held a particular horror for the White Scars. Despite this revulsion, to be assigned to live on in a Dreadnought shell is seen as neither punishment nor as an honour, but rather somewhere in between. Dreadnoughts among the White Scars were known as the Uhaan Solban, the Guardians of the Morning and Evening Stars in the Chogorian tongue. This poetic title is typical of the Legion’s tendencies, and hid a rather more practical purpose. It was only the Akoghlanlar, the apothecaries, and the Iron Khans of the armoury who sought them out, both to perform maintenance and for ritual reasons tied closely to their own obscure creeds.[40d]

Post-Heresy

Since the Heresy, the White Scars are led by a single Great Khan and several company-level Khans (Captains).

As their Primarch did during his campaign to unite the steppes, recruits from different tribes are today mixed together in squads. Each squad becomes part of a Brotherhood, roughly equivalent to a standard Company. During the Great Crusade when the White Scars were still a Legion, multiple Brotherhoods fell under the control of a Horde, roughly equivalent to a Chapter. However, unlike other Codex Chapters the White Scars maintain a much higher proportion of bike squadrons and Land Speeders, a reflection of the style of warfare favoured by the Chapter. The Chapter also maintains relatively few battle tanks, which are often stripped-down versions in order to keep with the rest of the White Scars. Finally, the White Scars of today normally do not possess any Dreadnoughts since the thought of confining a warriors' spirit within a sarcophagus is abhorrent to them.[3d][11] Though there remain a few battle brothers willing to be reborn as one of these ironclad war machines.[39]

Current Companies

Combat Doctrine

The Chapter is highly mobile even for Space Marines, specializing in lightning warfare, and making use of attack bikes, Land Speeders, Storm Talons, and other fast vehicles. Those mounted on bikes often make use of a special type of power weapon called a Power Lance, providing the same destructive potential at a much greater range.[3h] Heavily-armoured forces are often left chasing after shadows while the White Scars easily outmanoeuvre to attack them at their weakest point. White Scars forces prefer to attack their enemy at range, using their speed and firepower to destroy them, but are more than capable of committing their Assault Squads in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting.[3c]

White Scars naval vessels have been heavily modified by their Techmarines, allowing them to accelerate quickly and move at speeds thought impossible for ships their size. This however comes with sacrificing weaponry, protection, and troop-carrying capacity.[25]

The White Scars have been known to make use of a poetic battle-cant with phrases drawn from the stories of the peoples of Chogoris.[26a][26b]


Chapter Disposition[43c]

Headquarters

Chapter Command
Armoury Apothecarion Fleet Command Librarius Chaplaincy
ArmourySymbol.jpg
ApothecarionSymbol.jpg

*Master of the Fleet

LibrariusSymbol.jpg
ReclusiamSymbol.jpg

Companies

Veteran Company Battle Companies
1st Company 2nd Company 3rd Company 4th Company 5th Company

"Spearpoint Brotherhood"

WS1st.jpg

Master of the War Council

"Firefist Brotherhood"

WS2nd.jpg

Master of Lore

"Eagle Brotherhood"

WS3rd.jpg

Master of the Hunt

"Tulwar Brotherhood"

WS4th.jpg

Master of Blades

"Stormwrath Brotherhood"

WS5th.jpg

Master of Spirits

Reserve Companies Scout Company
6th Company 7th Company 8th Company 9th Company 10th Company

"Hawkseye Brotherhood"

WS6th.jpg

Master of Shields

"Plainstalker Brotherhood"

WS7th.jpg

Master of the Watch

"Bloodrider Brotherhood"

WS8th.jpg

Master of Steeds

"Stormbolt Brotherhood"

WS9th.jpg

Master of Bows

"Windspeaker Brotherhood"

Master of Braves

Notable Chapter Elements

Notable Vessels

Notable Aircraft

Notable Vehicles

Notable White Scars

Heresy-era

Post-Heresy

Unique Troops

Images

Trivia

Portions of the White Scars culture, battle-tactics and naming schemes are based on those of the warriors of the Mongol Empire - in particular their use of the title Khan evokes the great warlord Genghis Khan and his generals.

Previous editions

!

Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000 whose current validity may be in question, for details see the corresponding "Notes" section below.
The Whitescars are organized like most Space Marine Chapters. For over two thousand years they have been guarding the Kolarne Circle, a densely populated cluster of systems, constantly threatened by internal rebellions and nearby Ork warlords. After that Whitescars were engaged in a counter-revolutionary crusade against mining systems of Rad Ox of the Third Quadrant. In general, the Chapter has a long and proud history and played an instrumental role in the destruction of Hive Fleet Behemoth (noted as being a Chaos aligned force).[1]
The Whitescars are completely fleet-based, their fortress-monastery being the space barge Constantinius. Their fleet numbers over a hundred ships, and as a result the Chapter has a high number of Astropaths and Navigators attached to it.[1]
A unique formation within the Chapter are the Souldrinkers, Space Marine veterans that excel in close combat. These Marines are armed with power-swords and refractor fields and bear their own distinctive shoulder badges and honour banners. Another formation are the Cobra Squads, comprised of regular members of the Chapter's companies that have been equipped with jump packs.[1]

See also

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